White-coated doctors, medical students, pediatric residents and fellows from the University of Mississippi Medical Center were getting a lesson in the inner workings of the Mississippi Legislature while sharing facts on health-related legislation Tuesday during the third annual Capitol Day, hosted by the Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MS-AAP).

In her 20 years as a nurse, Angela Glass has cared for a variety of patients. But for the last four years, she's devoted her career to patients who allow her to make a difference: kids with psychiatric challenges at Batson Children's Hospital.

“I like the treatment team approach here,” she said of fellow front-line caregivers who have a calling for a job that requires a big heart. “Your opinion is really valued.”

That's just part of the reason Glass wants to be a nurse at Batson, part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She's among more than 2,000 nurses who choose the Medical Center as their employer for reasons ranging from educational opportunities to competitive pay to working with specialists found nowhere else in the state.

And as the Medical Center's 722 beds stay filled, the need for nurses grows daily.  So after providing a market-driven salary boost for most nursing staff earlier this month, UMMC is on the hunt for new nursing talent.  That's a “new normal” as most hospitals deal with a national shortage of nurses.

“We are proud of and dedicated to our mission of providing the highest level of care to the citizens of our great state, and with that commitment comes challenges,” said Terri Gillespie, the Medical Center's chief nursing executive officer.

As one academy prepares for a big meeting in Los Angeles, the Mississippi Academy of Sciences headed to Hattiesburg for their own last week.

University of Mississippi Medical Center faculty, staff and students attended the Academy's 80^th annual meeting Feb. 18-19 in the Thad Cochran Center at the University of Southern Mississippi.

This year's meeting was a great success with record attendance, says Dr. Ham Benghuzzi, professor of clinical health sciences and executive director of MAS.

“There were more than 750 meeting attendees representing all universities and colleges in the state,” Benghuzzi said. “The increase in abstracts and attendance is a reflection of how hard each of the division chairs worked.”

The mission of MAS is three-fold: to foster communication among scientists, promote science education and provide expertise to the wider state community.

Researchers from across the state gathered to present their work through posters and talks, representing the sciences from agriculture to zoology.

UMMC brought its biomedical and health sciences expertise to the event, not only as workshop leaders and featured speakers, but also with award-winning student posters.

The Medical Center will host the second-annual 2016 UM/UMMC Research Day on Thursday, March 3, in the second-floor conference center of the Norman C. Nelson Student Union. The event will feature three-minute lectures, a poster session and keynote speeches by UMMC and UM faculty, postdoctoral fellows, staff and students.

The Medical Center is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff: